List of fertility deities

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Fertility goddess
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A fertility deity is a god or goddess associated with

Fertility rites
may accompany their worship. The following is a list of fertility deities.

African

Ancient Egyptian

Min, ancient Egyptian god of fertility and lettuce
  • Amun, creator-god, associated with fertility
  • Bastet
    , cat goddess sometimes associated with fertility
  • Hathor, goddess of music, beauty, love, sexuality and fertility
  • Heqet, frog-goddess of fertility
  • Heryshaf, god of creation and fertility
  • Isis, goddess of motherhood, magic and fertility
  • Knum
    , Creator of the human body, source of the Nile, associated with fertility/ creation of life
  • Mesenet
    , goddess of childbirth
  • Min, god of fertility and reproduction
  • Osiris, god of the afterlife, the dead, and the underworld agency that granted all life, including sprouting vegetation and the fertile flooding of the Nile River
  • Renenutet, goddess of the true name, the harvest and fertile fields
  • Sobek, god of the river, warfare and fertility
  • Sopdet, goddess of the fertility of the soil
  • Tawaret
    , goddess of fertility and childbirth
  • Tefnut, goddess of water and fertility

Yoruba

Native American

  • Atahensic, Iroquois goddess associated with marriage, childbirth, and feminine endeavors
  • Kokopelli, Hopi trickster god associated with fertility, childbirth and agriculture
  • Hanhepi Wi, Lakota goddess associated with the moon, motherhood, family and femininity

Aztec

  • Chimalma
    , goddess of fertility, life, death, and rebirth.
  • Tonacatecuhtli
    , god of sustenance.
  • Tonacacihuatl
    , goddess of sustenance.
  • Tonantzin
  • Coatlicue
    , goddess of fertility, life, death, and rebirth.
  • Xochipilli
    , god of love, art, games, beauty, dance, flowers, maize, fertility, and song.
  • Xochiquetzal
    , goddess of fertility, beauty, female sexual power, protection of young mothers, pregnancy, childbirth, and women's crafts.
  • Quetzalcoatl, god of fertility, wind, water, and chocolate.

Inca

  • Mama Ocllo, mother goddess, associated with fertility
  • Sara Mama
    , goddess of grain
  • Pachamama, fertility goddess who presides over planting and harvesting and causes earthquakes

Inuit

  • Akna, goddess of fertility and childbirth
  • Pukkeenegak, goddess of children, pregnancy, childbirth and the making of clothes

Mayan

  • Akna
    , goddess of motherhood and childbirth
  • Goddess I, goddess of eroticism, female fertility, and marriage
  • Ixchel, jaguar goddess of midwifery and medicine
  • Maya maize god, gods of maize
  • Maximón, a Mayan god and modern folk saint associated with crops, death, and fertility and Sight

Muiscan

  • Muisca

Taíno

  • Atabey (goddess), mother goddess of fresh waters and fertility (of people).
  • Yúcahu, masculine spirit of fertility (of crops such as Yucca) along with his mother Atabey who was his feminine counterpart.

Vodou

  • loa
    of fertility, rainbows and snakes
  • Gede, family of spirits that embody the powers of death and fertility

Asian

Arabian

  • Attar (god)

Armenian

  • Anahit, goddess of fertility, healing, wisdom, and water
  • Aramazd, generous king and creator god of fertility, rain, and abundance

Canaanite

  • Hadad, storm (and thus rain) god responsible for crops growing, also known as Adad and Ba'al
  • Nikkal, goddess of fruits
  • Baʿal Hammon
    at Carthage

Chinese

Filipino

  • Lakapati: the hermaphrodite Tagalog deity and protector of sown fields, sufficient field waters, and abundant fish catch;[3] a major fertility deity;[4] deity of vagrants and waifs;[5] a patron of cultivated lands and husbandry[6]
  • Ikapati: the Sambal goddess of cultivated land and fertility[7]
  • Lakan-bakod: the Tagalog god of the fruits of the earth who dwells in certain plants;[8] the god of crops;[9] the god of rice whose hollow statues have gilded eyes, teeth, and genitals; food and wine are introduced to his mouth to secure a good crop;[10] the protector of fences[11]
  • Kukarog: the Bicolano giant who was swept by waters into the sea, where his genital can be seen as a rock jutting from the ocean[12]
  • Ibabasag: the Bukidnon goddess of pregnant women[13]

Vietnamese

  • Bà mụ, consisting of twelve goddesses responsible for creating each part of the child

Hittite/Hurrian

Indian

Parvati
  • Banka-Mundi, goddess of the hunt and fertility
  • Bhavani, goddess of fertility
  • Bhumi
    , goddess of the earth and fertility
  • Chandra, lunar god associated with fertility
  • Gayatri, goddess of Vedas and embodiment of the Gayatri Mantra
  • Lajja Gauri, goddess associated with abundance and fertility
  • Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity, wealth, fortune, and fertility
  • Manasa, snake goddess associated with fertility and prosperity
  • Matrikas, a group of 7-16 goddesses who are associated with fertility and motherly power.
  • Parvati, goddess associated with fertility, marital felicity, devotion to the spouse, asceticism, and power
  • Bhumi
  • Rohini, minor goddess of fertility and fortune
  • Sinivali, goddess associated with fecundity and easy birth
  • Yogamaya, goddess of fertility and maya
    (illusion)

Iranian

  • Anahita: or Anahit, the divinity of "the Waters" and hence associated with fertility, healing, and wisdom
  • Sandaramet
    , female divinity associated with earth and Mother Nature
  • Ashi: a divinity of fertility and fortune[14]

Phoenician

  • Asherah, Mother Goddess of nature, groves & trees (exiled by Hezekiah)

Japanese

  • Kichijōten
    , goddess of happiness, fertility, and beauty
  • Kuebiko, god of agriculture and knowledge
  • Inari Ōkami, deity of fertility, rice, agriculture, foxes, and industry; this deity is of ambiguous gender and may be portrayed as male, female, or ambiguous
  • Shinda, fertility god of the Ainu people

Mesopotamian

  • semitic
    goddess of motherhood and fertility
  • Ashratum
    , the wife of Amurru. Ašratum (glorified one), a cognate of Athirat
  • Tammuz
    , Mesopotamian dying-&-rising god, Dumuzid-sipad (the Shepherd), husband of Inanna
  • Gatumdag, Sumerian fertility goddess and tutelary mother goddess of Lagash
  • Nanshe, Sumerian goddess of social justice, prophecy, fertility, and fishing
  • Sharra Itu
    , Identified with Asratum, later Ašrat-aḫītu (Ašratum the foreigner) or (the other Ašratum)
  • Ishtar
    , Mesopotamian goddess of love, beauty, sex, desire, fertility, war, justice, and political power. Her symbols were lions, doves & the 8-pointed star, wife of Dumuzid

Turco-Mongol

  • Umay, goddess of fertility and reproduction, believed to have saved two children (one boy and one girl) from a massacre. She is believed to have offered protection and guidance to the children, who managed to raise the Turcic communities. In the form of a deer, she is accepted by the Turks to be the protective power of the race, and therefore she is called in many texts as "Mother Umay".

European

Albanian

  • Prende, goddess of love, beauty and fertility

Baltic

  • Laima, goddess of luck and fate, associated with childbirth, pregnancy, marriage, and death
  • Zemes māte
    , goddess of the earth, associated with fertility

Celtic

  • Brigid, Irish goddess associated with fertility, spring, healing, smithing, and poetry
  • Cernunnos, horned god associated with the fertility of animals and nature
  • Damara
    , fertility goddess worshiped in Britain
  • Damona, Gaulish fertility goddess
  • Epona, goddess of horses, mules, donkeys, and the fertility of these animals
  • Hooded Spirits, a group of deities theorised to be fertility spirits
  • Nantosuelta, goddess of nature, the earth, fire, and fertility
  • Onuava, goddess of fertility
  • Rosmerta, Gallo-Roman goddess of fertility and abundance

Etruscan

  • Fufluns, god of plant life, happiness, health, and growth in all things, equivalent to the Greek Dionysus
  • Thesan, goddess of the dawn, associated with the generation of life
  • Turan, goddess of love, fertility and vitality

Finno-Ugric

  • Finnish
    god of fertility
  • Rauni or Raun, Finnish-Estonian goddess of fertility
  • Peko or Pellon-Pekko, Karelian-Seto god of fertility
  • Metsik, West Estonian spirit of fertility
  • Norovava, Mordovian goddess of fertility
  • Šun-Šočõnava, Mari goddess of fertility and birth
  • Mu-Kyldyśin,
    Udmurt
    god of fertility and earth
  • Zarni-Ań, Komi goddess of fertility, represented by a golden woman
  • Babba or Aranyanya, Hungarian goddess fertility, represented by a golden woman
  • Ob-Ugric
    goddess of fertility, represented by a golden woman

Germanic

  • Ēostre, spring and fertility goddess; in earlier times probably a dawn goddess as her name is cognate to Eos
  • Freyr, god associated with peace, marriages, rain, sunshine, and fertility, both of the land and people
  • Freyja, a goddess associated with fertility and sister of the above god
  • Frigg, goddess associated with prophecy, marriage, and childbirth; in one myth, she also demonstrates a more direct connection with fertility, as a king and queen pray to her for a child
  • Gefjun
    , Danish goddess of ploughing and possibly fertility
  • Nerthus, earth goddess associated with fertility
  • Njordr
    , since his name is cognate with the above goddess, it's possible he was originally an earth/fertility deity before transforming into a sea god thanked for a bountiful catch
  • Thor, some strains of Norse paganism saw him as a fertility god (possibly due to bringing rain) and the father of Freyr and Freyja instead of Njordr

Greek

  • Aphrodite, goddess of beauty, love, pleasure, sexuality and procreation.
  • Aphaea
    , local goddess associated with fertility and the agricultural cycle
  • Artemis, goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, the Moon, chastity and childbirth
  • Demeter, goddess of the harvest, agriculture, fertility and sacred law
  • Dionysus, god of wine, grapes, and festivity, associated with fertility, particularly that of the vine and males
Priapus, Greek god of fertility, gardens and male genitalia
  • Hermes, messenger of the gods, possibly associated with male fertility
  • Hera, goddess of marriage, women, women's fertility, childbirth
  • Heracles, god of strength and athletes, had an association with male fertility as well as agriculture.
  • Ilithyia
    , (also called Eileithyia) goddess of childbirth and midwifery
  • Pan
    , god of shepherds and flocks, associated with fertility, particularly that of animals
  • Phanes
    , primeval deity of procreation and new life
  • Priapus, rustic god of fertility, protection of livestock, fruit plants, gardens, and male genitalia
  • daemon
    of fertility
  • Persephone goddess of springtime growth, flowers, and vegetation

Irish

Roman

Sami

Slavic

  • Dzydzilelya
    , Polish goddess of love, marriage, sexuality and fertility
  • Jarilo
    , god of fertility, spring, the harvest and war
  • Kostroma, goddess of fertility
  • Mokoš
    , Old Russian goddess of fertility, the Mother Goddess, protector of women's work and women's destiny
  • Siebog
    , god of love and marriage
  • Svetovid
    , god of war, fertility, and abundance
  • Živa
    , goddess of love and fertility

Oceanian

  • Gedi (mythology), Fijian god of fertility, who taught mankind the use of fire
  • Rapa Nui
    creator-god, associated with fertility
  • Tagroa Siria, Fijian god associated with fertility
  • Sido/Soido, Melanesian god associated with fertility
  • Tangaroa, Rarotongan god of the sea and creation, associated with fertility

Hawaiian

  • Haumea, goddess of fertility and childbirth
  • Kamapua'a
    , demi-god of fertility
  • Laka, patron of the hula dance and god of fertility
  • Lono, god associated with fertility, agriculture, rainfall, and music
  • Nuakea, goddess of lactation

Indigenous Australian

Rainbow Serpent, Australian creator god and god of rain and fertility

See also

References

  1. S2CID 164447144
    .
  2. ^ Berthier, Brigitte. (2008) The Lady of Linshu: A Chinese female cult. California : Stanford University Press.
  3. ^ San Buenaventura, P. (1613). Vocabulario de Lengua Tagala.
  4. ^ Scott, W. H. (1994). Barangay: Sixteenth-century Philippine Culture and Society. Ateneo University Press.
  5. ^ Pardo, F. (1686–1688). Carte [...] sobre la idolatria de los naturales de la provincia de Zambales, y de los del pueblo de Santo Tomas y otros cicunvecinos [...]. Sevilla, Spain: Archivo de la Indias.
  6. ^ Plasencia, J. (1589). Relacion de las Costumbres de Los Tagalos.
  7. ^ Jocano, F. L. (1969). Philippine Mythology. Quezon City: Capitol Publishing House Inc.
  8. ^ Demetrio, F. R., Cordero-Fernando, G., & Zialcita, F. N. (1991). The Soul Book. Quezon City: GCF Books.
  9. ^ Jocano, F. L. (1969). Philippine Mythology. Quezon City: Capitol Publishing House Inc.
  10. ^ Souza, G. B., Turley, J. S. (2016). The Boxer Codex: Transcription and Translation of an Illustrated Late Sixteenth-century Spanish Manuscript Concerning the Geography, Ethnography and History of the Pacific, South-East Asia and East Asia. Brill.
  11. ^ Potet, J. P. G. (2017). Ancient Beliefs and Customs of the Tagalogs. Morrisville, North Carolina: Lulu Press.
  12. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2021-01-18. Retrieved 2020-09-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ Jocano, F. L. (1969). Philippine Mythology. Quezon City: Capitol Publishing House Inc.
  14. ^ Taheri, Sadreddin (2014). "Goddesses in Iranian Culture and Mythology". Tehran: Roshangaran va Motale’at-e Zanan Publications. Archived from the original on 2018-07-15. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  15. ^ Ovid, Fasti II, 425-452
  16. ^ Augustine, The City of God, 6.9.3; Arnobius, Adversus Nationes, 4,.7
  17. ^ Augustine, The City of God, 6.9.3
  18. ^ Place Settings Archived 2021-05-03 at the Wayback Machine. Brooklyn Museum. Retrieved on 2015-08-06.